Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 1
Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020
This reflects data in agency systems as of May 7, 2020. While most clerks have completed data entry for the April 2020 election, some jurisdictions continue to record or revise data. Older data used different reporting conventions and terminology; therefore, the contents of some data fields may differ when comparing information from different years.
April 7, 2020 - All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
1,555,263
395,463
% of Ballots
100.00%
25.4%
Total Ballots Counted1 Ballots Cast In Person
- Ballots Cast Absentee
- 1,159,800
- 74.6%
April 7, 2020 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
1,303,985 1,159,800
2,659
% of Ballots
100.00%
88.9%
Total Absentee Ballots Sent Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected – After 4/13 Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - Other Absentee Ballots Not Returned
0.20% 1.57% 9.27%
20,537
120,989
April 2, 2019 - All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
1,207,569 1,061,465
146,104
% of Ballots
100.00%
87.90%
Total Ballots Counted Ballots Cast In Person
- Ballots Cast Absentee
- 12.10%
April 2, 2019 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
166,846
% of Ballots
- 100.00
- Total Absentee Ballots Sent
Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - Other Absentee Ballots Not Returned
146,104
2,492
18,250
87.57%
1.49%
10.94%
1 An additional 21,301 absentee ballot records were created by clerks but deactivated for administrative reasons (e.g. clerk error, voter error, voter request, voter refused, etc.). This represents approximately 1.6% of the total absentee ballot records. Since 2016, the median rate of administrative cancellations is approximately 2.3% of the total absentee ballot records created, with a range of 1.1% (November 2018) to 4.0% (April 2016).
Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 2
November 6, 2018 - All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
2,673,308 2,094,208
579,100
% of Ballots
100.00%
78.34%
Total Ballots Counted Ballots Cast In Person
- Ballots Cast Absentee
- 21.66%
November 6, 2018 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
595,914
% of Ballots
100.00%
97.17%
0.23%
Total Absentee Ballots Sent Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes Absentee Ballots Not Returned
579,100
1,379
- 15,435
- 2.59%
April 3, 2018 - All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
997,485
% of Ballots
100.00%
89.09%
Total Ballots Counted Ballots Cast In Person Ballots Cast Absentee
888,715
- 108,770
- 10.90%
April 3, 2018 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
125,936
% of Ballots
100.00%
86.37%
Total Absentee Ballots Sent Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes Absentee Ballots Not Returned
108,770
2,845
14,321
2.26%
11.37%
Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 3
April 4, 2017- All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
708,711
% of Ballots
100.00%
88.84%
Total Ballots Counted Ballots Cast In Person Ballots Cast Absentee
629,649
- 79,062
- 11.16%
April 4, 2017 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
100,249
% of Ballots
100.00%
77.88%
Total Absentee Ballots Sent Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes Absentee Ballots Not Returned
79,062
1,982
19,205
1.95%
18.91%
November 8, 2016 - All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
3,004,051 2,184,735
819,316
% of Ballots
100.00%
72.72%
Total Ballots Counted Ballots Cast In Person
- Ballots Cast Absentee
- 27.27%
November 8, 2016 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
845,243
% of Ballots
100.00%
96.93%
1.35%
Total Absentee Ballots Sent Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes Absentee Ballots Not Returned
819,316
11,447
- 14,480
- 1.71%
Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 4
April 5, 2016 - All Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Ballot Count
2,113,544 1,898,891
214,653
% of Ballots
100.00%
89.84%
Total Ballots Counted Ballots Cast In Person
- Ballots Cast Absentee
- 10.15%
April 5, 2016 - Absentee Ballots
- Ballot Status
- Absentee Ballot Count
233,073
% of Ballots
100.00%
92.10%
2.51%
Total Absentee Ballots Sent Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes Absentee Ballots Not Returned
214,653
5,860
- 12,560
- 5.39%
Absentee Voting by Method 2016-2020
4/5/2016 11/8/2016 4/4/2017 4/3/2018 11/6/2018 4/2/2019 4/7/2020
- Total Ballots
- 2113544
214653
43911
3004051
819316 674514 144802
708711 629649
30380
997485 888715
55457
2673308 1207569 1555263
Absentee Ballots Absentee In Person Absentee By Mail
579100 413882 165218
146104 1159800
80577 65527
195367
- 964433
- 170742
- 599269
- 833258
Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 5
2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote
Absentee Ballot Status
The data below is entirely dependent upon manual data entry by 1,850 jurisdictions throughout the State of Wisconsin. Most clerks have completed recording participation and are now performing reconciliation tasks to correct errors. After initially recording data, the system also runs a reconciliation audit where it compares related numbers and flags anomalies; therefore, the numbers below will change as clerks enter data and as they complete the reconciliation process.
In addition, clerks have the option to choose from a variety of predefined ballot status types and sometimes interpret ballot status definitions differently. This was particularly relevant to the April 7, 2020 election, since the normal statutory
deadlines associated with absentee ballot return did not apply. For example, the status “Ballot Not Returned by Deadline”
is sometimes used by clerks to mean different things. In this case, some clerks interpreted the status to mean ballots not postmarked by April 7th, while others interpreted it as ballots not returned by April 13th. Still others thought it meant any ballots that have not been returned to the clerk. The reconciliation process allows clerks the opportunity to revise figures using uniform definitions, thus we can expect the figures to continue changing slightly in the future.
Absentee
Ballot Count % of Ballots
- Type
- Ballot Status Reason
- Ballot Returned and Counted
- 1,159,800
14,042
5,526
88.94%
1.08% 0.42%
Rejected - Certification Insufficient Rejected - Postmarked After Election Day Rejected - Ballot Not Returned by 4:00 pm
2,659
795
98
0.20% 0.06% 0.01%
April 13th Deadline1
Returned Ballots
Rejected - Superseding Ballot Returned Rejected - Certificate Envelope Compromised2 Rejected - Voter Deceased Before Election Day
- 25
- 0.00%
- Rejected - Voter Ineligible
- 31
20
0.00% 0.00% 9.28%
Rejected – Other
Unreturned Ballots Ballot Not Returned
Request Cancelled by Clerk
120,989
10,563 10,185
4,960
301 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Request Cancelled by Voter
Admin
Action
Ballot Returned Undeliverable Voter Refused Ballot from SVD3
- Voter Ineligible to Receive Ballot
- 252
Since the April 17, 2020 report, most figures increased as clerks continued entering data. Three fields declined:
1. Rejected – Ballot Not Returned by 4:00 p.m. April 13th Deadline. (Previous figure 4,678) This field previously included
some ballots that were not returned at all and should have been documented as “Ballot Not Returned.” The new figure
more accurately reflects ballots that were returned to clerks but arrived late.
2. Rejected – Certificate Envelope Compromised. (Previous figure 229) This field previously included ballots listed as pending rejection by the Board of Canvassers. The lower number indicates that Boards of Canvassers decided to accept some ballots after assessing the reported damage to the certificate envelope.
3. Voter Refused Ballot from SVD. (Previous figure 304) This figure appears to have been revised to correct a data entry error.